IAAF chief declines to accept Nestle’s decision to split

Johannesburg, Feb.11 (ANI): IAAF chief Sebastian Coe has hit back at Nestle’s move to terminate its sponsorship with the scandal-hit world athletics body, saying that he is not ready to accept the decision.

Nestle spokeswoman Lydia Meziani confirmed the news, saying they had decided to terminate its sponsorship with the IAAF Kids Athletics programme a year early with immediate effect.

Meziani insisted that there was no point in continuing as it would have a negative impact on their reputation and image, Sport24 reported.

Nestle further said that they had informed their decision to the IAAF and were now awaiting a formal acknowledgement from them.

The development came amid reports that Adidas was walking away in the wake of the latest doping and corruption scandal that hit the organization.

Furious by Nestle’s decision, Coe said that the kids would suffer with the move, and therefore, the IAAF would not accept it.

Coe insisted that the programme had been quite successful, with 15 million kids from 76 countries taking part in it and promoting a healthy, active lifestyle.

Coe had earlier faced criticism when Russia was suspended for an indefinite period last month after the World Anti-Doping Agency ( WADA) alleged state-sponsored doping in the sporting superpower, which involves destroying samples and intimidating laboratory staff. (ANI)